Local officials told the Senate’s Budget and Appropriations Committee today that they need funding to make up for property tax losses, money for rebuilding and new systems to communicate with residents during emergencies.

But they also complained that Jersey Central Power & Light did not respond to the storm satisfactorily.

Brick mayor Steve Acropolis said the utility company had no way of finding out what areas had lost power, and it called him to ask whether a particular school had electricity.

“We’ve got to find a better way for JCP&L to deliver electric and to monitor who has it and who doesn’t,” Acropolis said.

Paul Shives, the Toms River business administrator, also said JCP&L’s flow of information was inadequate.

“JCP&L, frankly, did not give us accurate information at times, and that hurt us,” he said. Residents could not get estimates for when their electricity would be restored, and that hampered their response and recovery from the storm, he told the committee.

“I believe there needs to be some state hearings into how some state utilities responded,” Shives said.

Ron Morano, a spokesman for JCP&L, emphasized that the company was reacting to a storm of unprecedented magnitude and worked with mayors throughout the response.

“We understand their frustration,” Morano said. “However, the response to this catastrophic event was the largest in our company’s history.”

He added that nearly every JCP&L customer was affected by the storm.

Acropolis said he is worried about a raft of electrical fires in the coming weeks, caused by salt from seawater slowly eating away at wires in houses whose power has been restored.

He wanted to position fire trucks in neighborhoods where electricity was returning, he said, but JCP&L did not tell him where the power would be turned on.

The Senate Budget Committee was in Toms River today for its first of a series of hearings into the state’s recovery from superstorm Sandy.

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The Bloggers

Melissa Hayes, who has worked at The Record since 2010, covers Gov. Chris Christie and politics for the State House Bureau. Follow her on Twitter at @Record_Melissa. View all of her posts

Herb Jackson is the Washington correspondent for The Record, covering North Jersey issues on the Potomac, including the activities of the congressional delegation and federal policies that affect the region. Follow him on Twitter @Record_DC.View all of his posts.

Salvador Rizzo covers politics for The Record’s State House bureau, with a focus on financial issues and the state budget, and legal issues in the New Jersey courts. Follow him on Twitter @rizzoTK.View all of his posts.

Charles Stile is the political columnist for The Record. He is a former State House Bureau chief at The Record and has covered politics and government in New Jersey for more than two decades. Follow him on Twitter @PoliticalStile. View all of his posts